President Jair Bolsonaro and the former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silvawho lead the voting intention polls for Sunday’s presidential elections in Brazil, took their rags out in the sun this Thursday for the corruption of their governments in the last debate on television before the elections.
(Also read: The two options of Brazil ‘ad portas’ of a crucial election)
The far-right leader and the progressive leader, who are the protagonists of the most polarized elections in the history of Brazil, launched harsh attacks in the debate organized by Balloonthe network with the largest audience in the country, in which they cited the different corruption scandals of their governments.
(Keep reading: Bolsonaro says he will withdraw from politics if he loses the election)
“What is at stake in the elections is the future of the Nation. Brazil was a kleptocracy. Lula was the head of a large criminal organization. We cannot continue in the country of theft,” Bolsonaro said, recalling scandals such as the one involving the gigantic diversions of public resources from the state oil company Petrobras.
The far-right leader stated that won the 2018 elections to end the theft and corruption of the governments of the Workers Party (PT), the formation that ruled Brazil for 13 years first with Lula and then with Dilma Rousseff.
(The latest: Hurricane Ian: Preliminary figures bring the dead to 15 in Florida)
The former union leader, favorite for the elections with about 48% of the voting intentions and who can guarantee his election on Sunday since he would have more than 50% of the valid votes, asked for the right to defend himself and took advantage of the minutes that were granted to him to fight back.
Lula was the head of a large criminal organization. We can not continue in the country of theft
“It is a lie to say that I set up a criminal organization. Instead of saying that, I should refer to the diversions of which his children are accused, of the robberies in his Ministry of Education, of the mafia that tried to obtain an advantage with the sale of vaccines against covid,” said the leftist candidate.
(You can read: The keys to understanding the annexation to Russia of four Ukrainian regions)
According to Lula, his accusations are not the “blatant lies” cited by Bolsonaro but rather the conclusions of a congressional commission that investigated the management of the pandemic.
“Liar, ex-convict, traitor to the country,” the head of state responded immediately, who was also granted the right to reply, recalling the 580 days that Lula spent in prison convicted of two corruption trials that ended up annulled by the Supreme Court for irregularities.
Bolsonaro recalled that Lula was sentenced in three different instances and freed for having a “little friend” in the Supreme Court.
(Also read: The Colombian family that survived Hurricane Ian in Florida)
It should refer to the diversions of which their children are accused, of the robberies in their Ministry of Education, of the mafia that tried to obtain an advantage with the sale of vaccines against covid
He also recalled a corruption scandal that affected one of Lula’s sons and the reports of bribes received by allies of the former president in different states.
“It’s insane for a president to come here to say that. It’s cheeky,” Lula replied, before affirming that one of the first measures of his government, if elected, will be end the 100-year secrecy that Bolsonaro imposed on data implicating his family. “I’m going to take down those sigils to find out what he wants to hide,” she said.
The corruption scandals in the Lula government were also cited by other candidates.
(In other news: What did Queen Elizabeth II die of? They reveal the monarch’s death certificate)
The candidate for the Novo party, Philip D’Avila, affirmed that the progressive leader was responsible for the biggest corruption scandals in the history of Brazil. “How come a person like that has the moral capacity to lead Brazil,” he said.
The Labor candidate Cyrus Gomes, who was a minister in the first Lula government, affirmed that many people who participated in business with the Executive confessed that they stole and returned 16,000 million reais (some 3,076 million dollars) to the State. “It’s not enough to say that nothing happened,” he said.
(We recommend: Giorgia Meloni: How did she rise from the ranks of post-fascism to power in Italy?)
Faced with the accusations of the different participants in the debate, Lula recalled all the measures he adopted to combat corruption in his government and affirmed that it was such decisions that allowed the corruption networks to be disrupted and those responsible to be punished.
EFE
Other international news:
– The sea disappeared in Tampa before the arrival of Hurricane Ian in Florida: video
– NATO will respond with determination to ‘sabotage’ such as that of the gas pipelines
– Putin will sign this Friday treaties on the annexation of Ukrainian territories to Russia
#Bolsonaro #Lula #rags #sun #corruption #debate